Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe - Gretchen's Vegan Bakery (2024)

FAQs

Why is my vegan buttercream grainy? ›

That's right - you NEED the vegan butter to be room temperature before you start working with it. If you've ever made vegan buttercream and it's split or gone grainy, this is most likely the reason why. Get it nice and soft, then whack your vegan butter in the stand mixer and beat like crazy until smooth.

The Cons of Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Special equipment makes the job easier. A candy thermometer, stand mixer, and a double boiler really help. You can break your SMBC by adding too much liquid. Breaking means it turns soupy.

Maybe the meringue whipped too long, cooling to well below 75°F (24°C). Maybe the butter came straight from the fridge. Maybe your buttercream was even frozen in advance, but didn't fully thaw. Doesn't matter why—if your Swiss meringue buttercream looks dense and greasy (or even tastes that way), it's simply too cold.

The two main differences between traditional and dairy-free buttercream frosting are: The dairy butter is replaced with vegan butter. The whipping cream or milk is replaced with non-dairy milk.

Two good options for this recipe would be Earth Balance sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter (my personal preference). If you have another butter that's at least 79-80% oil/fat though, it should be fine.

Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes.

Swiss Meringue buttercream is silky smooth and light. It's perfect if you're looking for a slightly less sweet buttercream. It is, however, more time consuming to make than American buttercream. Italian Meringue buttercream is the least sweet of the three.

If the buttercream splits and looks curdled, like cottage cheese, it means the mixture didn't emulsify because the temperature of the butter was either too cold or the meringue was still too warm. There's a few different ways to fix this: Remove a few spoonfuls of the buttercream and place it in a heat safe bowl.

Yes. Swiss meringue buttercream can be whipped for too long. This usually happens when the mixture becomes too cool, and it will start to look curdled and greasy. To fix this, simply place the bowl of buttercream over a pot of simmering water for a few seconds at a time, mixing constantly.

Can I leave Swiss meringue buttercream out overnight? ›

Room Temperature – Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a stable frosting, meaning it will keep well covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days in a low humidity environment. Refrigerator – cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring back to room temperature to re-whip before piping.

*Pro tip: If you love the texture and taste of Swiss meringue buttercream but want it a bit sweeter, add ½ -¾ cup of sifted confectioners sugar after the butter is fully mixed in.

After baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, slather the layers in Dolly Parton's Creamy Buttercream Frosting (which is — in fact — vegan), and sprinkle with sweetened coconut flakes. So simple!

If you're not adding enough sugar, your buttercream won't be stable enough to hold its shape for long. If you're adding a little plant-based milk to thin the buttercream when frosting a cake, you might be adding too much of it, again, making it too unstable.

Non-dairy Milk: I like to use oat milk, this is just as needed to thin out the frosting. Vanilla: I add this no matter what flavor I am making. Salt: A pinch of salt makes this recipe so much more amazing. Peanut Butter, Freeze Dried Strawberries, Cocoa Powder: These are the optional add ins for different flavors.

If your buttercream ends up with a grainy texture, don't worry. There are simple steps you can take to fix it. Usually it is grainy from the sugar not dissolving into the butter properly. One easy fix is to re-whip the frosting, preferably with the paddle attachment, on medium speed until it becomes smoother.

Re-whip the frosting: Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to whip the frosting again. Whipping the frosting will help to smooth out any graininess and incorporate air, which can improve the texture.

If it's too buttery, add some heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you like the consistency. Whip it in on high speed for at least one minute when you like the texture. (See my footnotes about this below.) Switch over to a paddle attachment and run the frosting on low speed to get out any large air pockets.